Steam flatiron

ABSTRACT

The invention herein discloses a stream flatiron with an integral and continuous smooth heated soleplate without the usual steam ports. In their place there is substituted an alternate supply of steam around the periphery of the soleplate by forming and extending the usual coverplate cup-like to extend substantially down to the ironing surface around most of the soleplate so that it is spaced from the soleplate to define peripheral groove means with the soleplate. The groove may extend along the entire sides of the iron, excluding the heel portion, or only part of the sides of the iron whereby steam exits from the iron along its periphery as a curtain of steam.

a titted States Patent 1 [111 3,73,33 Busby 1 June 12, 1973 STEAMFLATIRON 2,928,194 3/1960 Maykemper 38/77.83

7 l 5] Inventor L ewellyn D Busby, Upland, Calif Primary Examiner pamckD. Lawson T [73] Assignee: General Electric Company, Attorney-LawrenceR. Kempton, John F. Cullen Bridgeport, Conn. and Leonard J. Platt 22F'led: Se t. 18 1972 1 1 p 57 ABSTRACT [2]] Appl' p The invention hereindiscloses a stream flatiron with an 1 integral and continuous smoothheated soleplate with- 52 US. Cl. 38/77.83 out the usual Steam p Intheir place there is Substi- [5 1] int. Cl. D06f 75/06 tuted n l ernatesupply of steam around the periphery [58] Field of Search 38/775, 77.6,77.7, of the soleplate y forming and extending the usual 38/773 7733 779 97 coverplate cup-like to extend substantially down to the ironingsurface around most of the soleplate so that it [56] References Cit d isspaced from the soleplate to define peripheral groove UNITED STATESPATENTS means with the soleplate. The groove may extend along the entiresides of the iron, excluding the heel portion, 3:3? 53? or only part ofthe sides of the iron whereby steam exits 2 188 011 1/1940 MilIerIIIIIUN.................:::: 5/77.83 from the iron along its Peripheryas a Curtain of steam- 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures STEAM FLATIRONBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention The inventionherein pertains to a steam flatiron of the flash steam type containing athermally connected means to the soleplate which, conveniently, is anextension of the usual iron coverplate, to extend beyond the soleplateand provide a peripheral groove means around a smooth unbroken soleplatewhereby a curtain of steam is directed peripherally about the entiresoleplate or a selected part thereof.

2. Description of the Prior Art With the advent of irons using water foreither steam or spray purposes or both, it is customary to provide awater tank in the iron above the soleplate and use water valve structureto provide controlled water drippage into a steam boiler or generatorwhere it is flashed to steam and directed out apertures or ports in thesoleplate to steam the article. If the water valve structure is closedto cut off the water drippage through the orifice into the generator theiron is converted for dry ironing. This is the standard and conventionalstructure of a steam/dry iron. Generally, the steam ports in thesoleplate have been formed by numerous apertures fed by internal steampassages, or by ports emptying into long grooves that extend along theedge of the iron. Some have used separate inserts in the soleplate toform the ports or grooves for variation. Any break in the soleplateironing surface tends to create wrinkles and is subject to clogging fromlint that is generated during the ironing process. Inserts with theirnecessary fasteners are further subject to uneven temperature gradientssince they tend to be cold relative to the soleplate and must be heatedby the steam very iIlCfficient. The temperature differences result inincreased drag during operation. Also, inserts break the smoothcontinuity of the soleplate to provide catching and lintgeneratingsurfaces to subsequently reduce the steam rate of the iron. Still otherirons have provided smooth ironing surfaces with means around thesoleplate to ingest air and distribute it above the soleplate fortemperature control purposes by introducing a cooling effect.

No prior art irons are the type disclosed herein with an integral,continuous, and smooth heated soleplate that is uninterrupted by anyports or recesses or the like and still provides for steaming byproviding means to form a curtain of steam along the edge of thesoleplate whereby the steam is visible as it enters the fabric duringironing and the entire uninterrupted soleplate is available for ironingpurposes at all times.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly described, the invention is directed toany type steam flatiron with an integral continuous and smooth heatedsoleplate and having a steam generator formed in the soleplate. A watertank is provided in the iron with the usual valve means to start andstop a metered flow of water from the tank through an orifice into thegenerator to control steam generation. To this conventional structurethere is added a means that may conveniently be the coverplate which isplaced in intimate thermal connection with and overlying the soleplateto define steam passages between the soleplate and coverplate. Thecoverplate is extended over the side of the soleplate substantially downto the ironing surface so that it fits the soleplate cup-like andextends along the periphery spaced therefrom to define peripheral steamgroove means whereby steam exits the iron only along the periphery as acurtain of steam with the entire smooth soleplate available for ironing.The steam groove may extend along both sides of the iron with theexclusion of the heel rest portion or may extend only partiallydepending on the extent of the steam curtain desired. Thus, the mainobject is to provide a steam flatiron with an uninterrupted continuoussoleplate and, at the same time, provide a full supply of steam as acurtain along the edge of the iron.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view of aniron, partially in section and broken away, showing general parts of aniron using the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective broken view of an iron illustrating theinternal arrangement of the soleplate and coverplate with the outershell; and

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of a typical soleplate using two forms of steamgrooves.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, there isshown a typical steam flatiron of any suitable form such as shown in US.Pat. No. 3,605,299, of common assignment, and which includes soleplate10 that, in the present invention, is an integral continuous and smoothsoleplate uninterrupted by any usual steam discharge ports or, ineffect, a soleplate of the type generally used with a dry iron asopposed to a steam flatiron. In accordance with conventional practise,soleplate 10 may be cast from a suitable material, such as aluminum,with an electrical heating element 12 cast in position. The heatingelement 12 extends in a loop beginning at the rear of the iron and alongone side to the forward end and then rearwardly along the other side.Thus, substantially uniform heat distribution is provided when the ironis turned on and the general form described is wellknown.

The iron includes any suitable means for generating steam by providingwater tank 14 therein. For convenience of description and illustration,the heated soleplate 10 has a flash steam generator 16 formed thereinunder control of an on-off water valve structure of known constructionand including button 18 to control steam generation by starting andstopping a metered flow of water from the tank through an orifice 20into the generator in the heated soleplate, the water flashing intosteam which is usually distributed under coverplate 22 and normally outsoleplate ports onto the fab- ['10.

In accordance with the invention, it is desired to provide steam forironing in combination with a smooth uninterrupted soleplate and toprovide it in the form of a curtain of steam generally around thesoleplate. The present invention is a modification and a differentcombination from that generally shown in application Ser.

- No. 253,427 filed May 15, 1972 of common assignment wherein a limitedcurtain of steam is shown in the nozzle portion in combination withsoleplate steam ports. To this end, the present invention providescoverplate 22 in intimate thermal connection with and overlying thesoleplate 10 as shown in FIG. 1 to define the steam generator as well assteam passages 24 therebetween so that steam created in generator 16passes under the coverplate 22 and into passages 24 in a generally knownmanner.'Normally such steam would be directed out soleplate ports butthe present iron omits such ports. In lieu thereof, the iron provides acurtain of steam around the periphery of the soleplate. To this end, asseen in FIG. 2, the coverplate 22 is extended beyond the soleplateperiphery and directed downwardly substantially to the ironing surfacein a cup-like fashion around the periphery of the soleplate. Thisextension is spaced from the soleplate to define peripheral groove means26 and the coverplate is suitably formed as seen in FIG. 2 to provide aconnection between the steam passages 24 and groove means 26 whereby thesteam exits only along the entire groove means.

The intimate thermal connection of the soleplate and coverplate isobtained with fewer bolts 28 than normal and this curtain constructioneliminates the need for sealing compound between the coverplate andsoleplate as is usually required. The reason for this is that leakage ofsteam naturally gravitates by the cup-like coverplate to the peripheralgroove 26 where it is driven into the fabric so leakage is of littleconsequence. The extension of the coverplate is provided in a stepfashion whereby the outer shell 30 of the iron may conveniently rest onthe step to give the outer iron surface the same conventionalappearance.

It will be appreciated that the extended coverplate may be directed downto the surface of the soleplate to be coextensive therewith as shown ormay end slightly above the surface. As actually constructed, it has beenexpedient to direct it completely down to the ironing surface and roundoff the edges as at 32. In effect, the outer edge of the iron becomes apart of the soleplate around its edge and the finishing operationsmoothing up the surface of the soleplate and the edge of the coverplateextension creates a surface which, when rounded as shown, provides nowrinkling or drag. This is advantageous because the edge of the iron isthe most important surface since it does the flattening, removing of thewrinkles, and it is the edge the operator can see. Thus, the roundededge creates, in effect, an extension of the soleplate.

It will be appreciated that the curtain of steam or peripheral groovemeans may extend any substantial distance to cover completely two sidesof the iron as shown on the right side of FIG. 3 or it may extend onlypartially as shown on the left side. Further, it normally will notextend across the heel portion 34 which is grooveless so that it may beused to rest the iron when not in use in conventional fashion. Thus, thegroove may extend any length of the two sides and generally will cover asubstantial portion as shown in FIG. 3.

With this construction, there is no wrinkling created by the soleplatesince it is an integral continuous smooth soleplate that is uniformlyheated so the entire surface is available for ironing and drying. Withthe curtain of steam, it is possible to see the steam on the fabric sothat it is visible as it enters the fabric to relax it and then theentire surface ofthe hot soleplate passes over the already-steamedfabric in the normal manner to dry it. This is especially true insideways ironing which forms a large portion of the ironing motion. The

steam then also enters the fabric after the soleplate has passed over itbut, the fabric being hot, the steam is driven into the fabric on thetrailing edge of the iron and immediately dried so no wrinkling occurs.Fewer coverplate fastening bolts 28 are required to reduce cost andweight and sealing is minimal since any leakage is directed down intothe fabric. The steam grooves running substantially the full length ofthe iron soleplate provide the operator with more freedom of movement inironing while insuring even distribution of the same amount of steam ina completely different manner.

Consequently, the present invention provides a unique steam iron thatredirects the steam as a curtain of even distribution around theperipheral edge of the iron where it can be seen and where the entireintegral continuous smooth heated surface of the soleplate is availablefor ironing uninterrupted by any ports or recesses for efficient uniformheating, smoothly, low drag, and resultant easy ironing.

While there has been shown a preferred form of the invention, obviousequivalent variations are possible in light of the above teachings. Itis therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appendedclaims, the invention may be practised otherwise than as specificallydescribed, and the claims are intended to cover such equivalentvariations.

I claim:

1. A steam flatiron having an integral continuous smooth heatedsoleplate with a steam generator formed therein, a water tank within theiron and means to start and stop a metered flow of water from said tankthrough an orifice into the generator to control steam generation,

means in intimate thermal connection with and overlying said soleplateto define steam passages therebetween,

said means extending substantially down to the ironing surface cup-likearound said soleplate and along the periphery thereof and spaced fromthe soleplate to define peripheral groove means therewith,

whereby steam exits the iron only along the periphery as a curtain ofsteam.

2. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said generator is a flashsteam generator and said thermal connection means comprises a coverplateover the soleplate to define the generator therewith.

3. Apparatus as described in claim 2 wherein said coverplate is extendedbeyond the soleplate periphery to define the groove means therewith.

4. Apparatus as described in claim 3 wherein said coverplate is formedto provide a connection between said steam passages and said peripheralgroove means.

5. Apparatus as described in claim 4 wherein said groove means isdisposed along at least two sides of said iron. I

6. Apparatus as described in claim 5 wherein said groove means iscontinuous along the length of both sides of said iron and the heelportion is grooveless.

* k l l

1. A steam flatiron having an integral continuous smooth heatedsoleplate with a steam generator formed therein, a water tank within theiron and means to start and stop a metered flow of water from said tankthrough an orifice into the generator to control steam generation, meansin intimate thermal connection with and overlying said soleplate todefine steam passages therebetween, said means extending substantiallydown to the ironing surface cup-like around said soleplate and along theperiphery thereof and spaced from the soleplate to define peripheralgroove means therewith, whereby steam exits the iron only along theperiphery as a curtain of steam.
 2. Apparatus as described in claim 1wherein said generator is a flash steam generator and said thermalconnection means comprises a coverplate over the soleplate to define thegenerator therewith.
 3. Apparatus as described in claim 2 wherein saidcoverplate is extended beyond the soleplate periphery to define thegroove means therewith.
 4. Apparatus as described in claim 3 whereinsaid coverplate is formed to provide a connection between said steampassages and said peripheral groove means.
 5. Apparatus as described inclaim 4 wherein said groove means is disposed along at least two sidesof said iron.
 6. Apparatus as described in claim 5 wherein said groovemeans is continuous along the length of both sides of said iron and theheel portion is grooveless.